Yankee swap
by Kristenschaalisahorse
Summary: Courtney is having her annual Christmas party, but instead of simply sticking with the "Secret Santa" game, she gets another plan in mind.


**Notes:** Mainly inspired from watching the Office episode, "Christmas Party" (s2ep10). And because I wanted to write something with Chilly Willy in it as well. I hope some of you will understand how to play that from this. Special shout-outs are in order to signelchan and kamikaze2007 for editing and discussing purposes about this story. Enjoy!

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><p>The arrival of December brought more than just snow and chilly weather. It brought with it the arrival of the red and green envelopes, each containing the handwritten letters of Courtney, inviting people to her annual Christmas party. She had done it since the end of her time on the show, almost five years now. This was the second year she was adding the "Secret Santa" game in. Because of that, there was a special PS written at the bottom, which was an urgent message that as soon as the recipient of the letter got the letter, they had to call her on the phone to work out on how to receive their person for Secret Santa.<p>

In the end, there were only two minuscule problems with the Secret Santa arrangement, but neither of the troublemakers worried about it. The month of December went by rather quickly and uneventfully, and then, the night of the party came. Courtney had planned it so that it would be a week before Christmas.

That night, by the time Alejandro and Heather had arrived, fashionably late as per usual, the party was nearly in full swing. Three other cars were parked outside the medium town house, each with a thin layer of snow already covering the tops of them.

"Please just try to have a good time tonight, alright?" Alejandro said, walking behind Heather. He was holding both of the presents they had brought, two small green and red bags with tags. The two of them were the cause behind one of the small problems; Alejandro had gotten Heather's name in the Secret Santa game, and because it had been the first choice he had gotten, it had not been changed, no matter how much Courtney had called shenanigans on it. Though she did not want to allow one member of a couple to have the other's name, it was stuck; he had ended up getting his girlfriend in Secret Santa. And that had certainly had made for one long month for Heather, what with him having her gift and teasing her about it from nearly that first day since he had gotten her name in the raffle.

"I'm not going to have a good time tonight. I didn't even want to come to this. The only reason I am is because of one of those presents you're holding." Heather replied, placing her hands on her protruding middle, before sighing heavily. "And with this one kicking much more often now, it isn't going to make it any better. This is going to be a terribly long night."

She got to the door first and knocked, and just as Alejandro walked up besides her, the door was answered. Duncan, clad in a festive-looking elf costume with fake elf ears included, greeted them, though he didn't look too happy about his attire for the night. He brightened a bit when he saw the two, though.

"Uh-oh, it looks like someone's been naughty. Santa won't be happy about that." he joked, smirking. "So how far along are you?"

Heather scoffed, somehow making an even more sour face than before. "None of your damn business, _elf_." she spat, pushing past him and walking into the house.

"Forgive her, she just really doesn't want to be here. I think your costume looks great, amigo." Alejandro quickly said, as he followed Heather inside.

"Well, thanks. Courtney insisted on having me dress up." he said, shutting the door behind Alejandro. "She wanted to have the whole party dress as something Christmas themed, but go figure, the costumes are all rented the week before the big night." Duncan said, rolling his eyes.

"That is completely understandable. But I'm sure not everyone would have been happy with that anyways." he said, mostly referring to Heather. Though he did not like the idea much, either.

"Yeah, I doubt it. Anyway, welcome. Presents go on the table. We're just waiting on a few more, and then the Secret Santa game will begin."

Alejandro nodded, moving past Duncan to the living room, which was looking very festive for the evening. Green and red streamers hung about, and in the very corner of the room sat the Christmas tree, fully decorated for the holiday. A small refreshments table had been set up next to the tree, and plates of holiday treats and a huge bowl of punch occupied this table, set out for whoever so wanted them.

Izzy and Serra were standing in front of the table, each holding a cup of punch and a cookie, and wearing obnoxious, bright Christmas sweaters. They seemed to be deep in some kind of conversation. Owen and Noah were standing off near the tree, also with cups of punch, but minus the sweaters. Owen was wearing a Santa hat on his head though, and seemed much more festive about the holiday than Noah was. Gwen, Cody, and Courtney were nowhere to be seen, but after a moment, Courtney appeared in the doorway. She was wearing a short red dress and black boots, with a Santa hat to complete the festive outfit.

"Hey, Al. Hey Heather. Welcome. Make yourselves comfortable. The game will begin shortly. We're just waiting on a few others." she said, carrying in another tray of cookies, and sauntering across the room to place them with the first plate.

"I hope they get here soon so we can get this over with." Heather muttered, walking over to the couch and sitting down with a huff. Alejandro followed her, setting the presents on the table with the others, and then standing near the table instead of sitting down.

"What she means is-"

"I want to leave, that's what I mean." she quickly cut over him.

"Oh, don't be so grouchy, Heather. It's not good for the baby. Plus, it's Christmas, and I have the best Secret Santa game planned for us just as soon as the others arrive." Courtney said, walking back across the room, momentarily leaning against the wall.

"Yeah Heather, it's not good for her. Cheer up! Besides, I've got something to keep you busy for a while and to maybe lift your sour mood." Sierra said, suddenly plopping down next to her on the couch.

"Great, Sierra. You're in charge of keeping her and the rest of the guests entertained while we wait for the others to arrive." Courtney said, and turned to make her way back to the kitchen.

"Izz can help, too!" Izzy said, sitting on Heather's other side. "Okay, guys, the name of the game is "Chilly Willy" It's a word game, so think words as we play."

"You guys are _still_ playing that?" Duncan said, rolling his eyes again. "Mostly everyone knows it now, it can't still be fun."

"_They _don't know it, so you're wrong, it will still be fun!" Izzy said.

"Okay. Heather, did you know that Chilly Willy likes Izzy, but not Alejandro?" Sierra said.

"Uh-uh, nope, I don't get it, and I don't want to get it. Count me out." Heather said, crossing her arms over her stomach, where an immediate tiny kick hit one of her palms, making her give a sudden wince.

"My turn! Chilly Willy likes cookies, but not punch!" Owen chimed in, standing behind the couch. He had heard the conversation and had walked over while Sierra was proposing her one. Noah walked followed and stood by Owen, thinking of his own example.

"Chilly Willy likes eggnog, but not candy canes." Noah said, and sighed. "I can't believe I got roped into this, but it's kind of fun once you get it."

"What kind of guy doesn't like candy canes, though?" Owen asked. "This game doesn't make sense most of the time."

"Does Chilly Willy like trees, but not leaves?" Alejandro piped up, looking at Sierra and Izzy. The resounding squeal from Sierra confirmed that he did, and Alejandro smiled.

"You really got it after three examples? It took me almost an hour." Duncan said, finally joining the game.

"Give another example to make sure you have it for sure." Izzy said. "And make it a good one!"

Alejandro thought a moment, before doing just that. "Chilly Willy likes apples, but not bananas."

"He really does get it!" Izzy said, beaming.

"Come on, Heather, it's your turn. Chilly Willy doesn't like a sourpuss...well actually he does, but you know what I mean." Sierra said.

"But does that one count though, since that's two words?" Owen asked.

"Sourpuss is only one word and ssh, don't give it away!" Sierra cried, shushing him.

"I'm still not doing it. It sounds dumb, sorry." Heather said, and just as Sierra was going to complain, the game was temporarily broken by a sudden knock at the door, and Duncan moved to answer it.

Gwen and Cody were at the door, both of them wearing Santa hats and carrying slightly bigger bags than Alejandro and Heather had brought.

"Hi, sorry we're late, guys. Last minute things came up." Gwen said, as she entered the house.

"About time you guys showed up. Now we can start this dumb game and get it over with." Heather muttered, still looking cross among the cheerful Chilly Willy players.

"And a very happy Christmas to you, too Heather. Hey, everyone." Cody said, entering into the small living room. Gwen followed him, and Duncan shut the door again behind them.

"Is that them? Are we all here now?" Courtney called from the kitchen, but before anyone could answer, she had reappeared in the doorway.

"Good, you guys are here, now we can start." she said, but disappeared once more. She returned only a moment later with a piece of paper.

"Okay, here are the rules. First, everyone gather around the couch, you can pull up more chairs if you need to. Everyone sit and be comfortable for this."

As she looked over the list, everyone got themselves a spot to sit around the table, either squeezed on the couch, or sitting on one of the kitchen chairs, where the stack of gifts were piled.

"Now this is all going to be done anonymously, that's why it's called 'Secret Santa'."

"We know how to play from last year, just get on with it." Heather complained, as she sat even more squished between Izzy and Sierra, both bouncing with excitement in their seats.

"What kind of Christmas humbug bit you tonight? Relax, Heather, this will take an hour tops, then you can leave." Courtney said, pausing her reading to give the complainer a look. After a moment, she continued, clearing her throat.

"I'll be in charge of distributing the gifts. They'll be given in no particular order, but just by whoever's name is on the tag, okay?"

The group nodded.

"Alright. We all know that presents are the best way to show someone how much you care. It's like this tangible thing that you can point to and say, "Hey, man, I love you this many dollars' worth., right? So without further ado, lets start our Secret Santa game."

Courtney put the piece of paper down on the table and picked up the first gift on the stack, a small green box. She read the tag aloud.

"Duncan, you're first." she said, reaching over the table to give him his present. He wasted no time in opening it, and pulling out the contents.

"Shower radio, cool." he said, looking over the plastic casing it was in.

"That was from me." Noah piped up. "I never buy presents for people, so I really didn't know what to get."

"Cool, thanks. This might really-"

"Okay, okay, keep it going." Heather urged. "Save the talking for after the game."

"Alright, miss Scrooge, you're up." Courtney said, reaching over to hand her the little red bag. She opened hers a little more gently and slowly than Duncan had, mostly due to the fact that her stomach made it slightly difficult to open her present. The others watched her open her gift, but no one watched more intently as Alejandro, who seemed to practically be holding his breath.

When the crinkly tissue paper came away, Heather actually brightened up at seeing her present, and as she started looking over the small paper coupon, Alejandro let his breath out slowly.

"A day spa certificate. That's pretty cool. Thanks, _Santa_." she said, meeting Alejandro's eyes as she tucked it back into the bag.

"Wait, wasn't there a $20 limit on gifts? I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure something like that costs a bit more...unless it's a cheap spa." Courtney pointed out.

All eyes happened on Alejandro, who shrugged keeping his cool. "It may have been more, it may have not been. You will all never know. But it is most certainly not a cheap spa."

"All right, I'll allow it. Next gift, Cody." Courtney said, tossing him the square box. He caught it and started carefully unwrapping the red and green paper, all eyes on him. Once it was finally off, his eyes widened.

"A video iPod?" he said incredulously, staring down at it.

"Whoa, okay now we all know _that'_s over the $20 limit." Gwen piped up.

"You don't know that." Courtney said quickly. "It could have been bought it for cheap off of Amazon or something."

"Yeah, actually we do know. You forgot to take the tag off of it."

"Courtney, this is three hundred bucks." Cody said.

"Oh...shoot, wow. Uh, okay, well, who cares? It really doesn't matter what I spent from the huge bonus I got from work. What matters is that Christmas is fun, right?" she said. "Now, who's next?"

With every pair of eyes on her, Courtney grabbed the next present off the table, and checked the tag. "Oh, it's my gift."

"That's from me!" Sierra chirped, bouncing in her seat again.

"I'm sure it's wonderful." Courtney said, tearing the paper off the box. She took the lid off the box and unwrapped several layers of tissue paper before happening on a homemade red and green Christmas scarf, with a small tag that read, "_Ho-ho-hope this keeps you warm this Christmas!_"on it.

"A scarf, okay. How...nice." Courtney said after a moment. She took a deep breath and left the room, the box still in hand. There was an awkward silence after this.

"I bet she's going to try it on right now." Gwen said, patting Sierra on the shoulder. Sierra nodded, temporarily pausing in her excitement put on by the silence.

"Uhhh...should we just keep opening up the presents?" Owen asked, breaking the silence.

"Let's do it!" Izzy exclaimed, leaning forward in her seat, her hands poised over the presents still sitting on the table.

"Whoa, there." Noah said, grabbing her arm, restraining her from going any further. "We shouldn't do anything until Courtney comes back. We don't know what she has planned."

"It's a beautiful scarf, Sierra." Alejandro said, an attempt to break the silence more. "Did you make it yourself?"

"I did! I went out and bought one of those do-it-yourself kits at the crafts store. After many days, I finally taught myself how to make it! I really thought she'd like it, but now I'm not so sure..."

Courtney came back at this point, still with the scarf in hand, and resumed her place at the head of the table. "Okay, I got it. We are going to turn our Secret Santa game into Yankee Swap."

"Wait, what's Yankee Swap?" Cody asked.

"It's this really fun Christmas game. First, one person chooses a gift. The next person can either also choose a gift, or steal that person's gift. If your gift gets stolen, then you can steal somebody else's gift or choose a new gift." Courtney explained.

"I thought that was called 'Nasty Christmas'". Noah said.

"Yeah, we used to call that 'White Elephant'." Duncan said. "That doesn't-"

"I call it fun, and I say we're doing it!" Courtney said, crumpling up her previous paper with the plans on it and tossing it over her shoulder.

"But why are we doing this?" Heather asked.

"Because it's fun, it's more special. I wanted this party to be really special, so I just changed the plans and went above and beyond."

"I don't know, Courtney, it sounds kind of mean." Gwen said, looking a bit uneasy.

"Ssh, no, it's not. Okay? Just give it a shot. Izzy, you're up first." Courtney said. "Here's the deal. You can either pick a new gift off the table, or you can steal somebody else's gift that they've already gotten, like my scarf here."

Izzy thought a moment, before making her choice. "I'll take the spa certificate! I've always wanted to lay in the mud without consequences."

"Shouldn't we, uh...I kind of bought that, specifically..." Alejandro piped up, but Courtney cut over him.

"Yankee Swap, Al! That's what makes it fun!" Courtney interjected. "Heather, give Izzy that, and you can either open something new, or take something already opened. I know of this really nice homemade scarf that our dear friend Sierra made, and-"

"I guess I'll take the iPod." Heather said, after grudgingly handing her bag to Izzy.

"And I have to give it to her? I have no say it in?" Cody asked.

"Nope, no say! Now, you can steal the scarf, the shower radio, or open a new gift."

"Guess I'll open a new gift." he said, handing Heather the iPod. He reached forward and selected a different gift, a small box wrapped in green Christmas tree wrapping paper. He opened it quickly and looked slightly puzzled as he pulled out a pink key-chain with Sierra's name on it.

"That was meant for Sierra." Heather said.

"Yeah, I kinda figured." he said, dejected.

"I think this is going pretty really great." Courtney said, grinning. "Sierra, you're up. Shower radio, or new gift."

She leaned in and picked a present from the pile, and unwrapped a complete cookie-baking kit.

"Chilly Willy _and_ Owen like cookies." Owen said, eyeing the box of cookie mix she had just opened.

"Gwen, go. Pick a new present, or steal something." Courtney said.

"Sorry, Izzy, but I'll take that spa certificate." Gwen said, and Izzy handed it to her.

"iPod, please, Heather!" Izzy said, holding her hands out.

Heather grudgingly handed it to her.

"Everyone wants the iPod. It's a huge hit. It's almost a Christmas miracle." Courtney muttered to herself. "Okay, Heather, cookie kit, Sierra's keychain, scarf, shower radio, or new gift."

She went for the new gift, grabbing for the bag that Cody had brought. She opened it and found a book of short stories.

"Maybe you can read them to the baby before bedtime." Cody said to her, giving a slight shrug.

"Owen, go."

"I'll take that cookie baking kit." he said immediately, and Sierra handed it to him.

"Your turn, Sierra. Shower radio, short stories, key-chain-"

"I'll take the key-chain, since it kind of does say my name." she said, and Cody handed it to her. "Thanks, Codykins."

"Cody, you know what's on the playing field. Actually, one thing isn't: the iPod. Anything but the iPod."

"A shower radio could be cool." he said, looking over at Duncan, who shrugged, and tossed him the package.

"You're up again, Duncan."

Duncan reached for the few remaining presents and selected one, bringing it back to his lap. He opened it quickly to find a holiday scented candle, warm gingerbread.

"This could be cool too, if I wanted to pretend like I lived in a gingerbread house." Duncan said.

"Your turn, Noah." Courtney said. "Let's keep this going, we're doing great!"

"I'll open a new gift. I'm starting to feel like Heather feels, wanting this done so we can leave." he said, reaching for one of the last two presents on the table. He opened it and found a Christmas sweater, holding it up for a look.

"Oh, nice. I was looking to buy a Bill Cosby sweater this December, anyway."

"I really hope you mean that." Gwen said.

"Next, Alejandro. Hurry, hurry, we're almost done!"

"The iPod." he said, and Izzy threw it to him.

"Candle!" she said, eyeing Duncan. He rolled his eyes and handed her the candle, before grabbing the last present on the table. He tore the paper off quickly, and stared down at his present.

"Paintball pellets? Really?"

"Yes, really! You get to hit people with them! But be careful though, those paintball thingies hurt." Izzy said.

"Alright! I think that Yankee Swap was a big hit. I think it's a success, and I ended up with this...lovely scarf. And you've all got presents you really weren't expecting." Courtney said.

"Yes, but the point was, we bought gifts for specific people." Alejandro said.

"Chilly Willy likes Yankee Swap. But we didn't really like Yankee Swap." Sierra said, not exactly meeting Courtney's eyes. It looked as though she was having a hard time meeting her gaze.

"No one said you had to keep those presents. Go ahead, swap it out all you guys want. I was just trying to do something different. Sue me...on second thought, don't. Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes."

Courtney was about to leave, but before she left, she sighed and picked up Sierra's scarf off the table, and wrapped it around her neck. She took a breath and looked at Sierra, smiling, and turned to return to the kitchen.

The tension seemed to break a bit with just that one little move. A few minutes after everyone had settled down from the game, the trading began.

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><p>"I really can't believe you're offering this trade." Gwen said. "You must really be determined to give this gift to her."<p>

"I am, really. So, will you trade? The iPod for the spa certificate?" he asked, holding the iPod box out to her.

"You know what? I will." she said after a long moment, handing him her gift. He gave her the iPod box in return.

"_Gracias_, Gwen. And may you enjoy this iPod."

"Thanks, and make sure to tell Heather to have a nice time at her spa day from me, I think she needs it." Gwen said.

"I will do that. Thanks again."

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><p>"You're sure you want to trade? You actually don't want to pretend to live in a gingebread house?" Duncan asked, smirking.<p>

"I'm sure! I'd rather hit people with those paintball thingies, and that's really why I bought them."

"So wait, you're telling me that you bought these so you could ultimately end up using them?" Duncan asked.

"Duh! I was hoping I'd get a better trading present than a candle, but you seemed to want it, so I thought I'd try my plan out on you." Izzy said. "So, want to trade?"

"Paintball pellets for a candle...well, I guess..." Duncan said, and no sooner were the words out of his mouth before Izzy snatched the bag of pellets from his hand, and practically threw him the candle in return.

"Thanks, man! Awesome! _Pew_! _Pew_! _Pew_!"

Izzy walked away from him making missile sounds under her breath, and Duncan watched her go, wondering if he had made the right choice.

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><p>"I can't wait to bake these cookies! But you know, maybe I should have tried to take the iPod..." Owen said, pondering for a moment.<p>

"I'm sure these cookies would suit you much better, O." Noah said, patting a still-thinking Owen on the shoulder. He immediately brightened up.

"You're right! Heheh. And maybe you could come over in your new Cosby sweater to bake them with me! We can make a day out of it!"

"We'll see about that, buddy."

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><p>"So you really are going to read those short stories to the baby? I was just joking about that, you know." Cody said, nodding towards Heather's present.<p>

"Yeah, I might actually do that. Maybe they'll end up helping her fall asleep." Heather replied, rubbing her hand over one side of her belly. "Plus, she might also one day enjoy the story about where I got the stories, so there's that."

"That's a great plan." Cody said. "Maybe this swap thing wasn't so bad after all."

"What are you talking about, it was terrible!" Sierra said, throwing her hands up. "You got cheated out of an iPod, Heather got cheated out of a spa day, and I don't think Courtney even really likes my present..." Sierra pouted.

"So that smile she gave you as she was walking away with it was fake, then? Relax, Sierra, I think she warmed up to it, dont you?" Alejandro said, suddenly walking up to the group.

"Well...I _guess_ she did." Sierra said, sighing. "I really hope so because I worked so hard on that."

"It really a beautiful scarf, I bet she did." Cody said, patting her hand. "Don't worry."

"I guess you're right, Codykins. And tonight wasn't a complete loss. I got this really cool personalized keychain from Heather. Where did you even find it, by the way?"

"Some website that Alejandro found online where you can personalize things. It sucked though, because I almost ordered 500 _Sierra_ keychains by accident. Damn that website and it's fine print. But, we only ended up with one, luckily. He saved us from that mistake."

"And lost more money from it's shipping than the thing actually was. Damn that website, indeed. But we are very glad that you like it."

"Thanks, guys!" Sierra said, beaming.

"Hey wait, where'd your iPod go by the way, Alejandro? You didn't trade it, did you? Cody asked.

"Actually, my friend, I did. I traded the iPod so I could get Heather her present back." he said, smiling.

"You didn't."

"I did. Merry Christmas, _mi amore_." he said, pulling his hands from behind his back, and quickly handing her the spa certificate.

"How...but why? That was an iPod." Heather said. "This is-"

"We can get another iPod if we really wanted to, but I really wanted you to have this specifically for Christmas, to use either before the baby comes or after. Because, as Gwen put it, it looks like you need a spa day."

"Awww, oh-em-gee, that's so sweet!" Sierra exclaimed, clasping her hands together, watching the two.

"That is really sweet. Thank you, Alejandro." Heather said, leaning in for a hug. It wasn't really a proper hug because of her huge middle, but they managed.

"What's going on here?" Courtney asked, walking up suddenly to the group.

"Alejandro traded his iPod so he could get back Heather's spa certificate." Cody said.

"Oh wow, that's awesome. You've sure got the holiday spirit." she said, and sighed, turning to Sierra. "Look, Sierra, I think I owe you an apology. It's a really great scarf that you gave me, and I shouldn't have rejected it and tried to pawn it off. So, thank you."

Sierra beamed. "You are so welcome! I really hoped you'd like it!"

"I really do. Once Christmas is over, I'll definitely be wearing this back to work at the law firm. It's a really nice gift. And it's homemade. Nothing better than that."

"I'm so glad you like it! This night turned around after all!"

"It did. I'm sorry I proposed the swap out of no where, and-"

Courtney was suddenly hit in the back of the head with a small flying object, followed by a loud cackle. Everyone at the party turned to the noise, curious to see what had happened.

"Oww! Izzy, be careful! Those paintball thingies hurt!" Courtney said, quickly recovering by rubbing the back of her head where the pellet had struck her.

Izzy cackled again, and ran out the door into the snow, scream-singing her rendition of "_Jingle Bells_" into the night.


End file.
